Torture
by Lisa Moulton
Summary: The Master is in control of everything. He wants the Doctor suffer -- he wants to draw Martha Jones out of hiding -- and he knows exactly how to do it.


**Author's** **Notes: While watching _Last of the Time Lords_, AL was screaming in my head as the Master was zapping the Doctor with the laser screwdriver. Screaming the exact same thing she screams in this story. In order to shut her up, I had to write it out.**

The Master knew. Lisa and the Doctor had encountered him more than enough times for him to know. Although, even if he hadn't, it would have been obvious, what with the agony he'd put the Doctor through passing on to her.

He also knew that the worst form of torture for the both of them was to keep them apart.

The Doctor, withered and aged, in the chair on one side of the room. Lisa, held in restraints and under guard, trapped on another. For a year, they stole glances at each other and communicated telepathically, the only way left open to them. Oh, once every other month, as long as they behaved themselves, the Master would let them get close enough to speak verbally – under heavy guard, of course – but never close enough to touch.

If Lisa tried to teleport or use any of her other abilities, the Master would hurt either the Doctor, Jack or one of Martha's family. She had found that out when she'd tried to teleport away the first time. Due to his weakness being passed to her, her powers were stunted and malfunctioning. She couldn't concentrate properly and the Master noticed her body crackling with energy as she tried to engage the power. To stop her, he'd punched the Doctor in the stomach, causing them both to double over in pain and effectively stopping her from disappearing.

So they suffered in silence. But they were planning something. Oh, yes. Things were going to happen. And soon.

After the failed attempt to turn the Master's laser screwdriver, the renegade Time Lord was addressing the peoples of the Earth.

"My people. Salutations on this, the Eve of War…lovely woman. But I know there's all sorts of whispers down there, stories of a child walking the Earth. Giving you hope." The Master walked over to the aged Doctor, sitting stoically in the wheelchair. "But I ask you…how much hope has this man got?" He leaned in closer. "Say hello, Gandalf." The Doctor, of course, offered no response. The Master continued, "Except, he's _not_ that _old_." He wheeled him closer to the camera. "But he's an alien with a much greater lifespan than _you_ stunted, little apes." He turned to the Doctor, taking out the laser screwdriver and adjusting its settings. In the corner, Lisa tugged slightly against her restraints, not liking where this was heading. "What if it showed?" he went on. "What if I suspend your capacity to regenerate? All nine hundred years of your life, Doctor. What if we could see them?" He flipped a switch, causing the screwdriver to expand, pointed it at the Doctor and fired.

Both the Doctor and Lisa began to writhe in agony. There was no way to describe just how excruciating the pain was. Lisa was sure she'd passed out briefly during the attack, but the pain shocked her back into consciousness.

"Older and older and older," she heard the Master say over the Doctor's agonized cries. "Down you go, Doctor." He had fallen out of the chair, still screaming in agony, and what made it worse was his mind calling out for her.

"Leave him alone!" Lisa yelled, crying with both pain in frustration, pulling on her restraints, trying to go to him, tears streaming down her face. "LEAVE HIM ALONE! _LEAVE HIM ALONE! **LEAVE HIM ALONE!**_" The Master ignored her. Weeping, unable to do anything, she curled up on the floor in a fetal position. "Leave him alone…" she sobbed weakly. "Dammit…please, leave him alone…_leave him alone_…"

"Down," said the Master. "Down, down you go."

When all that seemed to be left of the Doctor was his clothes, the Master finally stopped. Panting, Lisa raised her head and tried to lift herself up to see what had happened. He was still alive, she was sure. But where was he?

The Master seemed to wonder the same thing. "Doctor?" he asked, walking around the pile of clothes, cracking his neck, wiping his nose and mouth and glancing to Lucy. Bending low, he saw it. They all did.

Something twitched from beneath the suit and jacket. Finally, a bald, wizened, shriveled and frail creature emerged, huge brown eyes blinking dazedly. Lisa's jaw dropped in shock as she tried to stand, but her legs didn't have the strength to hold her anymore.

"Doctor…" she said in a hushed whisper, more tears falling. He looked at her forlornly, trying to hold himself up, but he was severely weakened, and she felt every ounce of it. She probably couldn't have used any of her powers if she tried. She sniffled. "Oh, Doctor…"

Two reactions flashed across the Master's face. One was surprise, the other was amusement. He walked over to the camera and said, "Received and understood, Miss Jones?" Then he cut the transmission and stalked over to Lisa. Leaning down over her, he said harshly, "If you so much as even _breathe_ wrong, I promise you, you _will_ regret it."

She only wondered what he was getting at for the briefest moment before her restraints came free. Almost immediately, she scrambled as quickly as she possibly could in her weakened state to the diminutive form of the Doctor. Using his shirt to cover him, she very, very gently scooped him up into her arms and cradled his fragile, trembling body against her like a baby.

"Doctor?" she said softly, tears still falling. "Doctor?" _Doctor?_ she tried telepathically.

The large eyes took a long time to focus on her. When they finally did, they widened in surprise when he realized that he was, once again, back in her arms.

"Lisa…" His voice was weaker and harsher than previously. "Oh, Lisa…" His tiny, gnarled hands grasped weakly at her shirt as he tried to bury himself in her jacket, taking comfort in finally being close to her again, savoring it while it lasted. Telepathically, he repeatedly whispered her name, and there were tears in his eyes.

She rocked him gently, holding him close, using her body heat to keep him warm, trying to comfort him. She would have wrapped her wings around him, but she was afraid the Master would think she was trying to hide him and escape or something, so they lay limp on the floor around her.

_I wish there was something I could do,_ she said to him.

He didn't respond. Not verbally, anyway, nor telepathically. All he did was cuddle up to her, tugging on her shirt, and then he looked up at her, giving her a significant look. A look she understood perfectly.

And then, all too soon, she found herself at gunpoint with not only a gun but the laser screwdriver as well. While she couldn't bear the thought of being separated from him again, the consequences of not obeying were worse.

But the Doctor had a plan…and, dammit, she _would_ be there to help when he needed her.

_The End_


End file.
